Essay On Military Suicide

Since 2009, suicide rates among those on active-duty status have stabilized at approximately 18 per 100 000. It is important to know the factors driving this increase for many reasons. The most important thing we can get from this is a better to way to both prevent and treat victims faced with thoughts of suicide.

Stressed by war and long overseas tours, U.S. soldiers killed themselves last year at the highest rate on record, the toll rising for a fourth straight year and even surpassing the suicide rate among comparable civilians. Army leaders said they were doing everything they could think of to curb the deaths and appealed for more mental health professionals to join and help out. Clearly, the military is going above and beyond to try and prevent further lives from being taken.

There are an alarming number of veterans who suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression. The suicide rate on returning veterans is on the rise. In California, service members were killing themselves and family members at an alarming rate. After an investigation, it was apparent that they do not have enough properly trained individuals to over see

One of the disadvantage of previous military wars with todays, is technology. Now soldiers can stay in touch with their families so easy through social media. It is stressful for a soldier to see their friends and family day to day struggle or success, while they are trying to survive combat. So that?s when depression begins followed by alcohol abuse and ending with suicide. Fact: relationship problems are one of the most frequent risk factors associated with suicides among military members. ?Fact: relationship problems are one of the most frequent risk factors associated with suicides among military members? (Litts 2013). Litts also argues that suicidal can be caused due to brain

As a consequence of the stresses of war and inadequate job training, when they get out of the service many have fallen behind their contemporaries. If they are fortunate enough to become employed, many of them are unable to hold a job due to untreated PTSD and acquired addictions without services and counseling designed for them. These factors may place our returning veterans at a higher risk of suicide. In 2007, the US Army reported that there were 115 suicides among OIF/OEF veterans. This was the highest number of suicides reported since the Army started keeping track about 30 years ago. In general, the risk for suicide among these veterans was not higher than that found in the U.S. population (Tull). However, there are several programs and 24 hour suicide hotlines available for those that may contemplate committing suicide as an option.

According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, (2015) veterans comprise 22.2% of all suicides. The suicide data reports of 2012 estimated 22 veterans commit suicide everyday (Kemp & Bossate, 2012). Evidence-based studies show one of the major reasons behind the large number of veteran suicides may be related to undiagnosed mental disorders such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The Department of Veteran Affairs reports, “8 percent of the five million veterans using VA care have been diagnosed with PTSD” (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 2014). This gap in mental health treatment among veterans negatively affects our nation as a whole. It is our duty to implement policies that provide a better quality and quantity of mental health services for the soldiers that

Veteran suicide among our soldiers is a distressing and tragic reality. Per the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) http://www.va.gov/opa/docs/Suicide-Data-Report-2012-final.pdf a staggering 22 veterans take their own lives each day. That's a suicide every 65 minutes. This is a heartbreaking truth that has not adequately received the attention it deserves from the civilian world. To add insult to injury http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-0202-veteran-suicide-20150402-story.html tells us that there are two key high-risk groups of soldiers who typically are ineligible for psychiatric care: those forced out of the military for misconduct and those who enlisted but were quickly discharged for other problems. In each of those groups, an average of 46 of every 100,000 former service members committed suicide each

The article demonstrates the culture of problem solving in America where every little problem is projected to demonstrate its importance. In many other countries, the issue of suicide in the Army would not be given much attention but in this study, the Pentagon funding the study alone is important in taking care of soldiers. The most important thing in the article however is training the chaplains to first believe in therapy and then help those that seek help in the Army since it is shocking that many of them do not believe in the importance of therapy. Soldiers should also be made to see the importance of therapy and sensitized against stigmatization of those that seek therapy because about half of soldiers claimed they would feel embarrassed if their fellow soldiers found out that they sought

(2012) suggest that suicide prevention strategies must be implemented by professionals who understand military culture and the unique pressures of social cohesion and mental health stigma. Braswell and Kushner (2012, p. 535) agree that efforts must be implemented in a way that “account for the lived experience of soldiers.” Although these recommendations are in line with a growing body of academic scholarship on the topic of military suicide, it will be difficult to implement successful policy without a better understanding of what is behind the difference and change in suicide rate. With incomplete information or a lack of causality, policymakers will be unprepared to determine if the outcomes of their actions are an improvement compared to maintenance of current

Senior enlisted leaders were asked to come up with solutions to stop suicide in the Marine Corps. I am going to talk about three topics that I feel are the best solutions to suicide; (1) All hands responsibility, (2) Spiritual guidance, (3) Mental ship awareness program. Suicide is all hands responsibility because Marines are one family that strive to do their best for the best interest of the institution. Marines care for one another and the moment someone takes their life, it has a great impact on our emotional state of mind, mission readiness, and lack of training at all levels on how to deal with a suicide, why is it important to talk about it vice walking away and let the time cure the pain or the unanswered question. After any suicide I find it as a critical point to educate the force on why taking your life is not the solution, why any suicide is a death that touches someone (Kelly, 2015). Educating Marines that there is a solution to any problem and giving the solutions is important because at least there chances to make a choice just went up because all those resources within reach.

Although the government has spent millions of dollars to try and reduce the number of suicides through education, the number continue to increase. CARES creates the opportunity to connect soldiers with the resources and help that they require. CARES would allow a soldier to get instant assistance through the use of a phone or tablet. This resource

I. INTRODUCTION: While the numbers of suicides in the military are lower from previous years, in my opinion, the Army remains doubtful about how to handle suicides in their formations. There are some tools created by the Army available for leaders to raise suicide awareness, but in my opinion, the Army inherited something that it can’t be handle by a power point training, a suicidal awareness card, or a should not be part of its legacy. There is a debate regarding the root cause of the problem therefore, if military leaders are to be accountable for suicides among their ranks, then the military must change the culture on how we treat, and evaluate behavioral and psychological issues among the troops.

Suicide—a chaplains role. Nowhere are the services of chaplains needed more than in helping those veterans at-risk for suicide. The VA recognizes the important role of chaplains as front-line, mental-health providers for active-duty personnel and veterans, including the chaplain’s role in suicide prevention (Ramchand, Acosta, Burns, Jaycox, & Pernin, 2011). Recently, attention has been paid to the prevailing suicide rate of veterans. In order to combat these rates, the VA and public health professionals have dedicated considerable time and effort to designing and implementing suicide prevention initiatives targeting Veteran populations (Kopacz 2013).

Sociologist Emile Durkheim believes that “the bond between one’s self and his or her country are crucial factors in suicide.” Others sociologist believe people commit suicide to escape from intolerable pain, feelings of hopelessness or depression and other mental disorders. After studies were completed, it was concluded that most people who think about committing suicide never actually try to kill themselves. Studies show that for every one person who attempts suicide, three consider it, but never act upon it. Soldiers kill themselves because military training following by combat, makes them sensitive to pain and finality. From 2009-2012, military suicides have increased from 18.5 to 22.7 out 100,000 active-duty service members. But, in 2013,

"Some gave all, all gave some." Millions of soldiers have deployed to the Middle East in the last ten years. For the ones that came back, life is often different after combat. Haunting dreams and memories, post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, and family changes leave the soldier desperately clinging to any hope they can get. When a soldier needs help, who is there to help them? The answer should be everyone, but is that the case? Some say the United States government and the services are not doing enough to protect the soldiers from suicide, while others claim the government has it as their top priority. After the sacrifices these heroes have given, it is their right to the best services and help, to get them back to the life they